BEDFORD, VA – On day four of his murder trial, Trenton Frye took the stand, reiterating his account of events leading up to Katlyn Lyon Montgomery’s death.
The defense had Frye recount his relationship with Katlyn, including their miscarriage and financial struggles that led to their breakup in late September.
After the breakup, Frye found himself in Lynchburg, sleeping in his car while searching for an apartment.
He claimed he wanted to give Katlyn space, but the prosecution presented texts he sent to Katlyn after the breakup.
“Sending her TikToks, text messages and emails is giving her space?” Commonwealth’s Attorney Wes Nance asked.
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“No, but I was not under the right mental state after sleep deprivation, heartbreak, everything like that, stress. So, I was reacting accordingly. I missed her, I wanted to talk to her, I wanted to see her,” Frye said.
He continued to assert his innocence, saying he had never entered Katlyn’s apartment and was just trying to make sense of a painful situation.
“I could not have climbed that balcony without making a sound. I would have to be a ninja of some sort to move an entire, what she described as a metal bench, put it on a concrete wall that was described, and then climb up to what looked like plastic or fiberglass balcony, and not break anything and not make a sound. How is that possible?” Frye said.
Frye says while he was never in the apartment, he was on the premises.
He says the night of the murder, he decided to head back to North Carolina before suddenly turning back around.
“I started driving back to Carolina. I can’t tell you how long, maybe 20 minutes down the road, I got the worst feeling. I just had a really bad feeling, so I turned around,” Frye said.
The prosecution questioned Frye about his memory loss from the night of the murder, which he attributed to exhaustion and emotional distress.
He checked into a North Carolina hospital shortly after Katlyn’s death.
10 News will be in the courtroom starting at 9:30 a.m. Friday for closing arguments.
Then, the jury will be left to decide on a verdict.
